The mathematical language is universal, so is the language of art. One doesn’t have to be a scientist to enjoy the beauty of geometrical shapes, one doesn’t have to be an artist to enjoy the effect of a particular color scheme.

Jean Constant – 14 October 2018

The Back Flap

20 illustrations portfolio and original mathematical models from B. Rieman family of minimal surfaces on Minoan culture geometrical background. Riemann’s work on the properties of surfaces in higher dimensional space was based on intuitive reasoning. Cretan, Minoan art is rich in symbols and abstract geometries. Both complement each other unexpectedly, yet often in a mysterious and poetic way.

About the book

What is the book about?

The Riemann Conundrum is volume 4 of the Math-Art series. As the other volumes in the series, it is composed around an original 20-images portfolio including notes and background material. Bernhard Riemann’s work on mathematical surfaces in higher dimensions is based on intuitive reasoning. Cretan, Minoan art is rich in symbols and abstract geometries. Both complement each other unexpectedly yet often in a mysterious and poetic way.

When did you start writing the book?

I started working on this particular volume of the Math-Art series in 2013 for a multimedia exhibit in Santa Fe, and while studying 4th-dimensional geometry. The original portfolio evolved and expanded almost organically. Additional resources, supportive feedback from peers and professionals helped me build a presentation consistent both in visual terms and in the written format to meet my goal and communicate to the reader my fascination and enthusiasm for science, art, and in this particular book, the work of a unique and very significant mathematician from the late 1800s.

How long did it take you to write it?

My writing follows the evolution of the image(s) I am composing. A day, a week, in this case a few years. Whenever I work on the visuals, I jot down a few notes, sometimes meaningful references, sometimes spontaneous associations that come to me, looking at the work in progress. I developed this habit over the course of several projects, using a blog as a logbook and posting regularly new images and the background comments going with it as in the 364-1 project, the evolution of an image over 365 days @ https://constantconnect.wordpress.com/ or the 12-30 project, the exploration of 12 scientific graphics editors over a year time @ https://jcdigitaljournal.wordpress.com/

I don’t consider myself a professional writer or a novelist, but the written word is a very important component of my image-building process and ultimately, adds a layer of appreciation to the work I’m presenting to the reader.

Where did you get the idea from?

Is it intuition or something bigger? For some odd reason, I find myself time and again drawn to the work of a small group of Eastern Europe scientists of the mid-1800 century. Cantor, Gauss, Hilbert, Klein, Riemann among others, and the many pioneers who established the mathematical foundation of modern science today. B. Riemann, a scholar in number theory and differential geometry was also a very spiritual person guided by intuition. Intuition too led me to combine some of his work’s outcome with the elements of a much older culture. It is only much later I learned that Riemann who taught for many years in Göttingen, Germany, was a man from the North with a strong attraction for the sun and light of the Mediterranean shores. Actually, he was buried in Piedmont, Italy.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

I struggled for a long time with the association I created between Riemann’s work and the Minoan culture. Riemann is a formidable mathematician, well respected among his peers. Minoan art is the celebration of life and nature under the warm sun of the Mediterranean. As my work progressed and I became more comfortable with the original concept, I started to discover small, unexpected elements that added to my growing confidence. Riemann was relying on intuition, he had a well demonstrated personal attraction for warmer climates. The art of Crete lends itself to more substantive interpretation than a unidimensional representation of motive and simplistic symbols. Last but not least, the island known for its half-man, half-bull minotaur, is also a place famous in antiquity for its labyrinth built by architect and mathematician Daedalus.

What came easily?

I’m afraid to say, nothing comes easily to me! Visual art, like writing, is the process of committing to a canvas or a piece of paper subconscious ideas and floating association I find worth sharing with the viewer or the reader. To capture the shape – or the word for that matter, that looks so tempting and attractive, inner-thought wise, and put it down on paper in a meaningful way is a challenging, complex, and difficult process. As an experienced art practitioner, I’ve developed my writing skill around techniques I use in my studio, writing every day, one page at at the time, until something coherent comes out of it.

Fortunately, the visual part of my works comes easily because I guess I have a gift combining shapes and color in new and various arrangements. To describe the process, orally or in writing, I tap on the energy and pleasure that drove me to complete the artwork.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

My characters – or objects, in the particular context of this book, are absolutely real. Real as the world around us! All the “characters” of the Math-Art series are borrowed from the work and discoveries of scientists that have and are still helping us understand who we are, where we are and what the seen-unseen world looks like.

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

Russian painter and author Wassily Kandinsky influenced me in many ways. His coherent and attractive perspective encouraged me to question and explore anew my visual environment. Furthermore, Kandinsky was also a trained lawyer. His approach to communication carries the rigor and clarity of reasoning of the legal profession. Something I try to follow both to clarify my thoughts relating to art and in my own writing as well.

In addition, I could quote Paul Klee, his writing is as poetic as his art, D. Hofstadter for his persuasive demonstration of the many connections between science and art. Many other encouraged and inspired me, poets from Homer or Virgil, to Hölderlin in Europe or Whitman on this continent, and many others, writers, novelists, journalists I can’t remember by name, but still carry with me somewhere, because they marked or influenced my work, my life, and who I am today.

Do you have a target reader?

I produce my work for the largest possible audience, regardless of gender, age or culture. Beauty is all encompassing. The mathematical language is universal, so is the language of art. One doesn’t have to be a scientist to enjoy the beauty of geometrical shapes, one doesn’t have to be an artist to enjoy the effect of a particular color scheme. I’ve been privileged to exhibit and discuss my work in various settings and in many countries. I’ve had unexpected, enthusiastic feedback from pre-teens to adults of all ages who could relate to my art but not always to the words describing it, being from different cultures. Looking at the images helped them understand the words, understanding the words helped them appreciate the image better. These experiences in some way continue to encourage me to write and present my work as one unified multilayered vehicle of communication.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

Writing is often a painful and demanding challenge for me. Whereas as a visual artist, a white canvas is my imagination needs to start bubbling and percolating, thinking about a white page I must fill with words is enough to freeze and block me even before I even start. To compensate that serious handicap, I copiously add pages after pages with volumes of background material I collect from various sources that deal with the topic I’m working on. When ready, I get back into it like an editor, cutting, pasting, rearranging sentences until I find my own voice, my own rhythm.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

Absolutely! Because writing is difficult for me, I try to develop a precise, detailed outline of my topic. Over time I find it most helpful as the more detailed chapter head, sub headers, and paragraph headers are, the easier it becomes to complete my work with these much-sought-after sentences running away from me.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

I usually go through several iterations of my work. First, I write much more than I should, without trying to be too selective or analytical. Then I start the first edit, usually cutting more than I should, and last, I keep rebuilding until I’m satisfied with the result. It can be a five, six or more steps progression.

Did you hire a professional editor?

As an educator, I’m publishing in various academic journals and professional reviews. Each submission is peer-reviewed two or three times by the most merciless editors that can be. I learned a lot from the exchange. To be consistent with my goal of reaching and communicating with the largest possible audience, convincing and communicating appropriately with the most discriminating reader is for me a step in the right direction.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

Music is an important part of my writing environment. Depending on what step of the process I’m involved in, I listen to classical, blues, electronic, even world music. Sounds and rhythms reach part of my subconscious I didn’t know was there and participates positively in my larger effort to deliver in readable format what I instinctively want to share. In some respect, music – or silence for that matter, affects all aspects of my writing from the choice of word or descriptive, to the sequence of sentences, even down to the minute decision of choosing if, where, or how to put a comma in a sentence.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

No

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

I did the cover using Adobe CC – Ai, PSD and InDesign

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

This is my first attempt at promoting the Math-Art series outside of my regular network. Being new and unexperienced in this field, I’ll wait for the results to draw any conclusion and consider future strategies.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

We’re often told that writing is a solitary effort. The more I write the less I agree with it! Yes, the act of writing, squeezing out of your brain the raw material is for you to do alone. But be prepared to share your material with many and polish over and again what may be obvious to you but maybe not be to other. Peer review and editors are priceless in the completing of a meaningful, well-written book. As much as I believe one should stray true to himself and not be afraid to stand up for his ideas or even the way he expresses it, listening and collaborating make us better writer and at the end benefit the reader too. Not insignificant if our goal is to communicate and share!

About You

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Europe and in the US and feel privileged to have benefited from the exhilarating cross-cultural exchange between the two continents

Where do you live now?

I live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a magical place if anything, right at the end tail of the Rockies. A combination of a glorious environment, a rich culture, and at the frontier of advanced scientific research.

What would you like readers to know about you?

If the reader, in some respect, enjoys, shares or is inspired by my enthusiasm for science and art in all its form of expression, my work will have met the goal I set for myself.

Footnotes

The Math-Art series is also available on Kindle, under a slightly different name and in black & white because of constraints of KDP regarding titles and its upload/download policies. The iBook and GoogleBook versions are full color and, when available, include a multimedia file that affect the size of the book beyond what would be reasonable within the KDP network. Otherwise, the content stays the same.

I created the Kindle version of the series to be consistent with my effort to promote my interest in science and art and make my work available at a much more reasonable price. To my surprise, the black and white version of the portfolio ends up being just as attractive as the color one. My reward in doing so is that each image whether color or black & white becomes a unique element of a yet much larger project celebrating, science, art and our seen-unseen environment.

End of Interview:

For more from Jean, visit his blog and follow him on Twitter.

Get your copy of The Riemann Conundrum from iTunes or Google Play. You can also get a Kindle version in black and white as explained in the Footnotes above from Amazon US or Amazon UK.